SMU's Hal Mumme excited to work with Garrett Gilbert, hoping to bring '21st century version of the Air Raid' to Hilltop

UNIVERSITY PARK — Looking to enhance his Run and
Shoot offense, SMU coach June Jones hired someone with whom he has
shared secrets for more than 30 years.

Bringing in Hal Mumme as passing game coordinator
adds a knowledgeable offensive mind to the Mustangs’ mix. His Air Raid
offense became famous at Kentucky in the late 1990s.

Jones figures the offense will change by 15 percent
to 20 percent, which he said is customary. The Mustangs have been
tweaking the scheme during spring practice, which ended Saturday with a
fan fest at Pettus Field.

“Hal and I have been talking football for 35 years,”
Jones said. “He’s brought some things, and we’ll use some of his ideas
to go with our stuff. I thought it worked out good.”

Coming off a 7-6 season capped by a victory in the
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, the Mustangs’ most obvious needs on offense are
replacing running back Zach Line and bolstering the receiving corps.

One of the most important objectives is devising ways to make the passing game more explosive.

Mumme said he likes what he has to work with in
quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who a year ago was being thrust into the
Run and Shoot after graduating from Texas.

“I’ve watched more film in the last month than I have
in the last four years,” said Mumme, who came to SMU after four seasons
at McMurry. “It’s really been interesting. I think we’ll come up with a
great package that will maybe be the 21st century version of the Air
Raid.”

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